I set up a propane heater that is mostly for my dog, for one thing I can be sure that is where she will be sleeping. I put it outside under the rolled-off roof and it makes for a handy hand warmer.
I'm thinking of using one of my 6" Jaegers objectives in a small,
backyard observatory that I can heat in winter. A refractor is ideal for this, with the closed tube and objective situated outside the insulated, heated observing compartment. The telescope itself could be covered, retracted, or brought indoors when not in use.
I had originally thought of a camera obscura, using the now unused swamp cooler duct leading from my upstairs hallway straight up to the roof, but that would result in much limited sky coverage, as well as snow removal problems. Keeping the observatory in the backyard makes maintenance much easier.
If I had a south-facing window, I'd go for a Gerrish mount, but again that limits sky coverage- and I don't have a south-facting window, lol.
I'm tossing the idea out for comment by list members.
Thanks!
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